Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Avril 'Too Sexy' For Malaysia

A Malaysian concert by Canadian rockstar Avril Lavigne was canceled on Tuesday, saying it may taint the Muslim-majority country's independence day celebrations. The decision came after the youth wing of a fundamentalist opposition party, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, called for the show's cancellation. The Arts, Culture and Heritage Ministry said it had decided not to permit Lavigne's show because it was unsuitable to Malaysian culture and could not be held on Aug. 29, two days ahead of independence day.

"It is not timely. It's not in the good spirit of our National Day. If we go ahead with the concert, it is contrary to what we are preparing for," said Shukran Ibrahim, a senior official from the culture ministry's department that vets all foreign artists.

Kamarulzaman Mohamed, a party youth official, told The Associated Press on Monday that Lavigne's show was "considered too sexy for us" and would promote the wrong values just before independence day. "We don't want our people, our teenagers, influenced by their performance. We want clean artists, artists that are good role models," he said.

Last year, R&B singer Beyonce moved her show from Malaysia to Indonesia, and Christina Aguilera skipped the country on an Asian tour after a controversy erupted over a dress code for foreign artists. Malaysia requires all performers to wear clothes without obscene or drug-related images and be covered from the chest to the knees. They must also refrain from jumping, shouting, hugging and kissing on stage.